GECs
RiTV plans Marathi channel for rural viewers
After a Gujarati and Punjabi channel, RiTV will launch a 24-hour Marathi channel during this fiscal year.
The channel will however steer clear of the current crop of Marathi channels that cater predominanty to urban life styles and will instead target rural and semi urban viewers. It will include programming closer to the dreams, hopes, aspirations and lifestyles of this group, an official release says. Agriculture and rural development content will thus be the driving force for success, according to RiTV. The broadcaster also has plans to start a Metro channel this year, which will focus on the SEC A segment in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, a market which the company feels is ideal for a host of nice/exclusive, high profile brands.
The company will invest Rs 40.4 million in the Metro channel and Rs 20.2 million for starting the Marathi channel. The Metro channel will source content from all the three ad heavy cities, covering social events, product launches, local self government, law and order issues, business news and Bollywood news, according to RiTV managing director Subhash Menon.
RiTV also has commenced production of regional films for television audiences in Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi/Urdu, all of which will be premiered on the RiTV bouquet of channels, he says.
The company, which has firmed up plans of diluting 30 per cent stake is aiming to raise Rs 200 million this year. The funds will be used to launch the two new channels and create fresh software. The current fiscal will see RiTV producing 12 Punjabi movies and six Gujarati and Marathi movies each, a number that is expected to go even higher next year. The company has given the mandate for diluting stake to consulting firm Ernst & Young, which has valued the company at Rs 540.3 million. RITV has a programming library that comprises an estimated 3,500 hours of content, valued by Ernst & Young at almost Rs 90 million.
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
